Education and employment officials from the UAE and Indian governments have agreed to work together to boost the "knowledge economy" of each country, it has been revealed.

Both Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE minister for higher education and scientific research, and Kapil Sibal, Indian minister for human resource development, suggested such knowledge-sharing should be translated into business innovations, Gulf News reported.

The officials were speaking at a forum entitled "India-UAE Leveraging the Knowledge Economy Paradigm", which was held at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi this week.

Mr Sibal said the world should be prepared for considerable shifts in human resources patterns following the global economic downturn.

He suggested that by 2050, the working-age population of countries like Japan, China, and Germany will be considerably reduced, forcing them to look elsewhere to meet their employment needs.

"The education sector in both the UAE and India must be expansive, inclusive and excellent in order to meet the global needs for a workforce of the 21st century," he said.

Meanwhile, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry recently announced that the total exports of its 4,645 members during April this year reached a combined value of AED 16.8 billion - a 13 per cent increase on the same month in 2009.